Colonial nostalgia
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In Elizabeth Buettner’s essay, the increasing British taste for so-called "Indian" food is explained through the concept of "boutique multiculturalism," where certain cultural elements (like food) are celebrated as part of Britain’s identity while other, more challenging aspects of diversity, such as the presence of ethnic minorities themselves are met with resistance. This popularity grew partly due to colonial nostalgia; British diners desired a taste of the empire through “Indian” food, which they viewed as exotic yet familiar. Robin Cook’s famous claim that chicken tikka masala had become a "true British national dish" symbolized how Indian cuisine was adapted to British tastes. The dish itself was modified with a creamy sauce to suit British palates, illustarting how cultural integration sometimes relies on reshaping rather than fully embracing the original.
This process also involved notions of masculinity and colonial nostalgia. Early Indian restaurants in Britain often catered to former colonial officers, who found comfort and even status in revisiting the food and cultural aesthetics of their colonial past. The restaurants offered a space for these men to perform a version of masculinity tied to their former roles as imperial administrators and “masters” of Indian servants, as they returned to what they saw as “authentic” colonial experiences in Indian eateries back in Britain. Buettner shows that this practice extended colonial attitudes, with diners consuming the “exotic” while maintaining a distance from the people behind it.
Through food, such British diners aspired for an experience of colonial dominance without engaging with the diversity and complexities of South Asian cultures, or the struggles of immigrant communities within Britain. This authenticity was selected and adapted, even as Bangladeshi and Pakistani restaurant owners modified dishes to British tastes, strategically marketing “Indian” food as an exotic yet comfortable option for white Britons. Thus, Buettner suggests that while food allowed for a certain cultural acceptance, it also highlighted the selective and superficial nature of multiculturalism in Britain, where cuisine could be embraced while deeper issues of integration and tolerance remained.